Local punk rock band Germ Theory played a marvelous show at the Moxi Theater on Fri, Nov. 10. They were performing at the Moxi for a chance to win the Battle of the Bands as put on by BandWagon magazine. Germ Theory was competing against three other bands—Underseer, Kaoticus, and Author of Your Downfall for a chance to progress to the final round in December. The winner of the Battle of the Bands in December receives a 5,000 dollar prize, and will be on the cover of BandWagon magazine. Despite some hardships, the Germs put on quite a show.

About midway through Germ Theory’s set, lead guitarist Alex Casano’s strap broke. He still crushed the song despite having things go awry. While the strap is an easily fixable problem, a much less mendable problem came up for Germ Theory’s drummer, Jacob Morales (’26).

Morales’ bass drum head was destroyed midway through one of their songs. Luckily, it was on the last song of the set. In an Instagram story posted by Germ Theory, they gave a behind-the-scenes look at the shattered drum head, showing just how hard Jacob was hitting those drums.

Will Leyden’s microphone additionally experienced problems. Throughout the entirety of the set, Leyden’s microphone was incredibly quiet. To mediate the situation, Leyden started singing with the mic of Alex Casano, the backup vocalist. These setbacks would dock Germ Theory’s points from the judges, but the comeback from these setbacks highlight the talent of the Germs. 

In the end, Germ Theory did not end the hearts of the judges and will not be moving on to the final round. Regardless, they certainly won the hearts of those in the crowd. They inspired people to mosh and were incredibly fun to watch. Germ Theory brought both entertainment and good music to the Moxi Theater, representing the Longmont punk scene with pride.

Germ Theory plays another show on Jan. 6, 2024 at the Coast in Fort Collins. They will be playing alongside Willy Vee, and TY Makes Music. Tickets are available for purchase here.